1. Biblical and theological education
“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”
– St. Augustine of Hippo
The core of the Fellows program is a multi-year curriculum that immerses students in the story of Scripture (Year 1: Introduction to Old Testament and New Testament) and introduces students to the core beliefs of historic Christianity (Year 2: Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically). This educational track is patterned after intro level courses at a Christian college or seminary. The teaching is led primarily by Study Center staff, with occasional visiting teachers and/or faculty.
Year 1 traces the arc of the biblical story from creation in Genesis all the way to new creation in Revelation, focusing on the different books, genres, and themes that comprise the Bible. We explore in depth the many different parts of Scripture and consider how all parts of Scripture are ultimately connected to one another in revealing God’s unfolding purposes for His creation. Each lesson has a practical edge - exploring how our own personal purpose in life is discoverable within God’s larger plans for the world. As we seek to understand God’s story and our specific place within it, we’ll give special attention to what this means for how to live now as a college students.
The assigned books for Year 1 Fellows are the ESV Study Bible and The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story by Dr. Craig Bartholomew and Dr. Craig Goheen. These books are highly recommended and widely used by Christian college and seminary faculty. Each student will also receive their own Fellows Journal. There is assigned reading each week and a limited amount of work to complete between lessons.
Year 2 builds on Year 1 by introducing students to the core beliefs of the Christian faith, explored through assigned readings, teaching, interactive exercises, and group discussion. Topics that we cover include the canon of Scripture, the Trinity, creation, providence, the imago dei (what does it mean to be made in the image of God?), Christology (the person, nature and work of Christ), soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), the Holy Spirit, the Church, and eschatology (‘final things’).
After Years 1 and 2, students have the option to participate in Year 3: a seminar on special topics in Christian thought.
2. Community & Shared Meals
“The Christian community is a community of the cross, for it has been brought into being by the cross, and the focus of its worship is the Lamb once slain, now glorified. So the community of the cross is a community of celebration.”
– John Stott
In the New Testament, enjoying fellowship over a shared meal is foundational to the Christian life. In that spirit, students in Fellows eat dinner together at every Tuesday gathering. These meals are a set aside time in your week to pause from the college grind and to connect with friends. Meals are sometimes homemade by volunteers, and other times are catered from local restaurants.
The extended Christian community at UNC is large and spread across many strong campus ministries and local churches. As an educational program, Fellows is different than belonging to a traditional campus ministry but it is still social and provides opportunities to connect with new people and build new friendships. In addition to our every-other-week gatherings, Fellows also includes retreats, and other occasional social gatherings.
Study Center staff are also readily available to all Fellows students—we’re here for mentorship, discipleship, vocational discernment, or just to be an older friend and walk alongside you during college.
At the end of the day, the relationships built with fellow students and staff end up being one of the most formative aspects of the Fellows Program.
3. Connecting faith with all of life
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!”
–Abraham Kuyper
College is arguably the most formative season of one’s life. This is typically a time when students are evaluating their belief systems and exploring other belief systems, contemplating what ‘the good life’ consists of, and asking hard questions about love, friendship, career trajectory, and the like.
In the midst of such an exciting but also challenging season, the Fellows Program is designed to equip you to be able to see the relevance and application of the Christian faith to every sphere of life and every “domain of human existence.” In Fellows, no question is off limits, no topic is irrelevant, and no area of life is bifurcated from the Christian faith.